tabla

[tah-bluh, tuhb-luh]

noun

a small drum or pair of drums of India tuned to different pitches and played with the hands.

Origin of tabla

1860–65; earlier tubla < Hindi tablā < Arabic ṭabla, derivative of ṭabl drum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tabla

Historical Examples of tabla

One leg of each was resting on the tabla The lady reported us as sitting together on a sofa.
Ancient Faiths And Modern
Thomas Inman
Tabla ang risulta sa iliksiyun, The election ended in a draw.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan
John U. Wolff
Tabla ang itap-ung sa lungag, Use a piece of wallboard to cover the hole.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan
John U. Wolff
At our wish she then brought out the tabla, or board of wood on which the beating is done, and the stone for beating.
In Indian Mexico (1908)
Frederick Starr

British Dictionary definitions for tabla

tabla

noun

a musical instrument of India consisting of a pair of drums whose pitches can be varied

Word Origin for tabla

Hindu, from Arabic tabla drum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tabla

pair of drums used in northern Indian music, 1865, from Hindi, from Arabic tabl "a drum played with the hand."